Nigeria fuel strike warning

Protests have been held across the country

By Chris Simpson in Abuja

In Nigeria, the country's main trade union federation, the Nigeria Labour Congress, has held a protest rally in the capital, Abuja at the end of 10 days of protest.

Demonstrators called on Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo to abandon plans to deregulate Nigeria's oil sector, a move which the unions believe will lead to serious price increases in fuel.

The Nigeria Labour Congress will do everything possible to avoid a strike... but if we are pushed to the wall we will cripple this government Quote Here

NLC President Adams Oshiomhole

The rally, which was attended by several thousand sympathisers, went off peacefully with union leaders stressing the need for people to maintain good humour even in the face of suffering and frustration.

The federal capital is still at best a half-filled city, an eerie mixture of construction sites, freeways and opulent hotels.

But this is also the seat of government, and the NLC wants to deliver a strong final message.

Strike looms

NLC President Adams Oshiomhole said he wanted to avoid a nationwide strike and the recent rallies have been about explaining the issues and warning the government to rethink its plans for the deregulation of petrol.

But Mr Oshiomhole emphasised that if a strike was the only option left, workers would come out in huge numbers, leaving cities like Abuja "paralysed".

President Obasanjo has promised a series of initiatives to make petrol more available to the population, including a clampdown on illegal distribution networks.

But Adams Oshiomhole said the president was targeting the wrong people and ordinary Nigerians' main concern at the moment was the likelihood of a steep increase in fuel prices in the weeks ahead, something the government said will not happen.

Obasanjo

While petrol deregulation has been the key issue in this campaign, demonstrators in Abuja also articulated a profound sense of disappointment and frustration at the way Nigeria was heading.

Much of the blame was directed at President Obasanjo.

Adams Oshiomhole said the president was not the same man he had been two years ago, and now spent too much time outside the country working the "international cocktail circuit".

Mr Oshiomhole warned that while President Obasanjo may be anointed by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, if he was rejected by the people of Nigeria, he would end up as little more than a footnote in history.